At least 33 people have died after a migrant shipwreck off the east coast of Italyregion of Calabria.
Some 27 bodies have washed up on the shores of Steccato di Cutro, a seaside town in the province of Crotone.
More bodies were spotted in the water. The death toll is expected to rise.
“Several deaths have been reported among the migrants, (and) about 40 survivors,” the national fire department wrote on the Telegram messaging app, adding that the migrants’ ship had run aground off the coast.
The Adnkronos news agency said more than 100 people were on board the ship, while AGI, another Italian news agency, said a baby and several children were among the dead.
The ship, which was carrying migrants from Iran, Pakistan and Afghanistan, crashed into rocks during rough seas, Adnkronos said.
The Italian Coast Guard, which was reportedly on the scene with firefighters and other police forces, was not immediately available for comment.
Italy is one of the main landing points for migrants trying to enter Europe by sea. The so-called Central Mediterranean route is known as one of the most dangerous in the world.
According to the International Organization for Migration’s Missing Migrants Project, 20,333 people have been killed or missing in the Central Mediterranean since 2014.